The Walking Dead: 400 Days preview

When Telltale Games decided to develop a 5-part episodic series of games based on The Walking Dead universe, fans everywhere waited in anticipation to see how this medium would transform over into video game form. With all the blood, sweat, and tears that went into crafting this apocalyptic zombie-filled world, Telltale succeeded in crafting a masterful season filled with memorable characters, sophisticated storytelling, and emotionally gripping choices and consequences.

With the release of The Walking Dead: 400 Days scheduled to hit consoles sometime in July, the award-winning studio is now poised to deliver an experience as satisfying as season one and as the perfect Segway into season two. During E3 2013, I got a chance to preview a segment from 400 days during a 20 minute behind closed doors session. Here are a few of my thoughts on this episode and why you should definitely check it out next month.

When Telltale started hinting at The Walking Dead: 400 Days a few weeks ago, they did so by using a popular mobile app named Vine to highlight five new characters by the names of Vince, Bonnie, Russell, Shel, and Wyatt. All five of these individuals are tasked with having to survive the first 400 days of the zombie apocalypse on their own terms, and in unique, yet dangerous ways. The teaser trailer above identifies a Georgia truck stop, which will ultimately become a key centerpiece of the story as the player progress through each character's segment.

The demo that I experienced featured Vince, a wisecracking fugitive who shoots a guy at point-blank range then tries to ditch the weapon and evade the police before being caught. After this brief intro, the screen fades to black and then suddenly reappears again to establish that Vince's timeline starts on day two. By now, Vince is aboard a prison bus full of disgruntled criminals and in the midst of a conversation between two of his closest friends, Danny and Justin. Just like in previous conversations from season one, you can choose to defend one friend over the other and this will lead to some interesting consequences later.